The A Team: What did the $866,000 worth of expansions and lights do at Green Pond Landing?

Anglers, fans, and officials gather for a morning prayer at the Green Pond Landing before setting off to fish during the 2018 GEICO Bassmasters Classic on Lake Hartwell in Anderson on Sunday.(Photo: Ken Ruinard/Independent Mail)

The Question: A reader asked why it costs $866,000 to improve the docks at Green Pond Landing and why green lights were added halfway through the Bassmasters tournament.

The Answer: The bright green, under-the-dock lights at Green Pond Landing turned on for the first time on St. Patrick's Day.

It was simply a coincidence, said Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns.

Green Pond Landing is the county's centerpiece of water tourism and host to fishing tournaments, including the recent 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic and the upcoming Mossy Oak Bassmaster High School Eastern Open presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods.

A recent expansion that cost $866,000 included the lights. Most of the cost was installing new dock parts and moving docks, said Glenn Brill, director of the county's Parks, Recreation and Tourism division.

It was all contracted out to local companies: Belk Co. Construction, Marine Specialties, and Isom Electric, Burns said.

The lights cost slightly more than the $2,000 worth of lights that went into Brown Road Pier in 2017, Brill said.

The green color has nothing to do with Green Pond Landing. The lights don't attract big fish. They are intended to attract microorganisms and small bait fish, and those in turn attract the big fish, Burns said.

"You do not have to have a boat to fish," he said. "You can fish off the dock."

The second purpose of the lights is to keep boaters from crashing into the docks, Brill said. The cost of repair after a significant crash would far exceed the cost of lights, he said.

The docks and lights are like the microorganisms and small bait fish, helping to reel in around $50 million to the local economy, Brill said.

Reporters Abe Hardesty and Mike Ellis make up the A Team. Their weekly column is dedicated to answering any and all of our readers' questions. To submit a question, email ateam@independentmail.com or send a letter to the Independent Mail at 1000 Williamston Road, Anderson, SC 29621. The question-and-answer articles will appear in print on Saturdays as well as online at independentmail.com and on our Facebook page.